ATHENS, Ohio (Jan. 31, 2007) -- In the wake of questions raised at the past week's Ohio University Town Hall Meeting, Vice President for Student Affairs Kent Smith today has asked Student Senate to review and make recommendations on how Ohio University regulates speech activities in outdoor spaces on the Athens campus.

"Questions have been raised about this, and we want to be proactive in addressing any concerns," Smith said. "We want a policy that meets the needs of the campus and is not unreasonably restrictive."

"We have accepted Dr. Smith's charge to review and make recommendations about the regulation of speech activities at Ohio University," Student Senate President Morgan Allen said. "We will work on this issue for the rest of the quarter and hope to have a resolution by the start of next quarter."

The next Student Senate meeting is at 7:15 p.m. tonight (Jan. 31) in the Walter Hall Governance Room and is open to all Ohio University students.

As part of the effort, Dean of Students Terry Hogan has prepared and distributed a brief paper on the university's current approach and the rationale for it. The paper is available online at the Web site of the Office of the Dean of Students at www.ohio.edu/deanofstudents.

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Media Contact: Acting Senior Director of Media Relations Sally Linder at 740-597-1793 or linders@ohio.edu, or Dean of Students Terry Hogan at 740-593-4022 or Hogan@ohio.edu